My daughter and I, along with other equestrian enthusiasts, worked very hard to set it up, and spent a lot of time filling in rabbit holes, cutting grass and building jumps. We also raised money for the big shed and we are hoping to have an indoor area there to be used in inclement weather.

The facility is used by many schools from a large area that pay for overnight camping. The centre is recognised as one of the best facilities worldwide, and this contributes to the overall popularity of the district bringing a considerable amount of money here.

Each club that uses the equestrian centre helps to clean up and put equipment away. I think we all walk the walk and talk the talk, as most of us horsey people do for their individual clubs.

I am now 85 and my 13-year-old granddaughter stayed until 6 o’clock one night after an event to put away jumps etc with me and she also does dressage. Anything “horsey” is classed as “elite”. Heaven knows why, we are mostly just dedicated horse lovers. What is wrong with that?

Congratulations to the mayors of Albury and Wodonga for developing a cooperative approach to seeking funding for development of our region. Now all that Albury Council needs to do is to reject the re-zoning request to change environmental land to industrial that would see land at Willowbank Road adjacent to the Murray River degraded and an industrial estate created next to our most valuable asset. 

The following quotation was printed in a church paper in 1996. It seems “we” still do not know what to do.

“One of England's distinguished statesmen, Sir Fred Catherwood, offers an insightful analysis of the world. He writes: ‘We look back today because we dare not look forward. We live in a violent, greedy, rootless, cynical, and hopeless society, and we don't know what's to become of it all. As we stop believing in the dignity of man and woman made in the image of God, violence has risen dramatically. The social pillars of society have been shaken. All down (through) the centuries, governments have had moral guidelines to tell them how to shape the social structures. Now, they do not know what to do.’”

Recently I asked member for Albury Greg Aplin for details of new schools proposed for the Thurgoona area. I received a response from the Albury network director of Public Schools NSW that “at this time there are no additional government schools planned, located or under construction in Thurgoona”.

It concerns me greatly that Albury Council has approved up to eight new housing estates in the Thurgoona area and yet we have no plans for schools.

Traffic in Thurgoona in the morning and evening peak is a major issue and yet a simple solution like adding an additional lane from the roundabout to the freeway entrance, to allow traffic flowing on to the freeway easy access, has been rejected, I understand by RMS, because of all reasons, it puts too much traffic on the freeway.